Chapter 332
Bepo’s anxious, sincere voice carried across the torn clearing beside the Polar Tang, almost pleading with everyone to stop before the situation became worse.
Unfortunately, by that point the confrontation had already gone too far to be talked down.
Pedro’s sharp leopard eyes remained fixed on Zaraki, his grip tightening around his sword until his knuckles showed beneath his fur.
The brief clash had lasted only a few dozen breaths, yet he still had not fully understood how Zaraki moved.
There had been no impossible distortion of space and no mysterious technique.
Zaraki had simply read each attack early enough and moved with such precise timing that Pedro, Roddy, and Blackback had repeatedly struck where he had already ceased to be.
That somehow made the difference between them even harder to accept.
Pedro had sailed dangerous seas and survived countless battles, but he had rarely encountered an opponent who made experienced fighters feel so completely helpless.
By the time the exchange ended, Pedro, Roddy, and Blackback were scattered across the damaged clearing.
Blackback lay beside the crater left by his own club, Roddy was struggling to push himself upright after crashing through several thick roots, and Pedro remained on one knee with his sword planted against the ground for support.
None of them had been grievously wounded.
That almost made the defeat worse.
Zaraki had overwhelmed all three without needing to draw Nozarashi.
Carrot had arrived midway through the fighting after the first impacts shook the nearby forest.
She stood frozen for several seconds, staring at three of Zou’s elite Guardians on the ground while the human responsible remained completely unharmed.
Then her face went pale.
She turned and vanished into the trees.
…
Whale Forest — Guardians’ Residence.
The sun was already descending toward the horizon when Carrot burst into the residence, breathing so hard that her chest rose and fell violently.
Nekomamushi had been asleep only moments earlier.
That ended the instant Carrot shouted Pedro’s name.
“You’re saying WHAT, meow?!”
The enormous cat mink shot upright, nearly knocking his pipe away in the process.
“Pedro, Roddy, and Blackback got taken down that quickly?”
“It’s true!”
Carrot struggled to catch her breath.
“He barely even fought them seriously. Captain Pedro couldn’t touch him, and Roddy and Blackback were knocked away before they could trap him.”
She swallowed.
“And he said he came to Zou because he wants to meet you and Duke Inuarashi. He wants both of you to go to sea with him.”
Nekomamushi’s expression hardened.
Wanda and several Guardians nearby exchanged alarmed looks.
“Both rulers?”
Wanda frowned.
“For what?”
“He didn’t explain everything.”
Carrot shook her head.
“He just said he wanted people strong enough to go somewhere with him.”
Nekomamushi reached for the weapon beside him.
“That damn human comes barging into the Whale Forest, beats Pedro and the others, then announces he wants both rulers of Zou to follow him?”
His fur bristled.
“He’s got some nerve, meow.”
Wanda stepped forward.
“Boss, the sun hasn’t completely set yet.”
Nekomamushi looked toward the orange light filtering through the trees.
“If you go out now and Duke Inuarashi sees you, the two of you will start fighting before you even reach the intruder.”
“Then that old dog can complain later.”
Nekomamushi rose.
“If this human really handled Pedro and the others as easily as Carrot says, leaving Inuarashi to deal with him alone would be even more idiotic than our usual arguments.”
He snatched up his weapon.
“Emergency beats schedule.”
…
By the time Nekomamushi reached the clearing near the edge of the Whale Forest, the last sunlight was painting the enormous trees in deep orange.
Duke Inuarashi was already there with Shishilian and the Musketeers behind him.
His face darkened immediately when he saw Nekomamushi approaching.
“Nekomamushi.”
The dog mink’s voice carried across the clearing.
“The sun has not set.”
“Shut up, old dog.”
Nekomamushi did not even slow down.
“Some bastard appears on our country, knocks down the Guardians, and asks both of us to sail away with him, and you’re worried about the clock?”
The familiar hostility between the two rulers flared immediately.
Their followers tensed.
Zaraki watched from beside the Polar Tang with both hands in his pockets.
Law stood near the submarine’s upper hatch with the resigned expression of someone already regretting the entire detour.
Issho remained nearby, silent and relaxed, while Bepo looked increasingly certain that bringing Zaraki home might prove to be the worst decision of his life.
Zaraki’s gaze moved between the two rulers.
The old wounds left by Jack’s invasion were impossible to miss. Inuarashi was missing his left leg, while Nekomamushi had lost his left arm.
Neither injury had diminished the authority in their bearing, but both were permanent reminders of what Kaido’s subordinate had done to Zou.
That made Zaraki’s grin deepen slightly.
Nekomamushi noticed.
“What are you smiling at, human?”
“I’m wondering whether Bepo exaggerated.”
Zaraki finally removed one hand from his pocket and rested it near Nozarashi’s hilt.
“He kept talking about the rulers of Zou like you two were worth coming all the way up here to meet.”
Inuarashi’s eyes narrowed.
“And what exactly do you want from us?”
“I’ve got somewhere to go in three days.”
Zaraki’s expression sharpened.
“I’m looking for fighters worth bringing along.”
Nekomamushi bared his teeth.
“You invaded our territory to recruit us as hired muscle?”
“Not hired.”
Zaraki shrugged.
“You can say no.”
The cat mink’s killing intent rose.
Zaraki continued before he could answer.
“But if you do, I’ll still want to know whether turning you down was worth the climb.”
Law closed his eyes.
Bepo covered his face with both paws.
Inuarashi’s hand settled against his sword.
“That is your idea of diplomacy?”
“Never said I was a diplomat.”
Zaraki’s mouth curved.
Then his gaze dropped once more toward the wounds Jack had left on them.
“Besides, I can give you a better reason than helping me.”
The two rulers became still.
Zaraki’s fingers closed loosely around Nozarashi’s hilt.
“For example…”
His golden eyes hardened.
“Settling the debt Kozuki Oden left behind.”
Both rulers froze.
The hostility between them vanished so quickly that it might never have existed.
Zaraki continued.
“Kaido.”
The name landed harder than any threat.
“He’s holding a banquet on Onigashima in three days, and Big Mom is going to be there with him.”
His grin became savage.
“I’m going.”
Then he gave the two rulers a long, measuring look.
“If you’ve spent twenty years wanting another chance at that horned bastard, this is it.”
Nekomamushi’s remaining fist trembled.
Inuarashi’s jaw tightened hard enough to make the muscles stand out beneath his fur.
Zaraki did not soften the next part.
“But from what I’ve seen so far, you two look more like beaten dogs who spent twenty years hiding on an elephant’s back, licking old wounds and blaming each other.”
The clearing went completely silent.
Inuarashi’s expression turned murderous.
Nekomamushi’s Electro began snapping faintly across his fur.
“How dare you.”
Inuarashi’s voice had become dangerously quiet.
“Do you understand whose name you’re using?”
“Yeah.”
Zaraki’s answer came immediately.
“A man who died fighting Kaido while the people who survived him spent two decades fighting each other.”
Both rulers flinched as though he had struck them.
Then Carrot suddenly stared at Zaraki more carefully.
The face.
The hair.
The golden eyes.
The wanted poster she had seen passed around after the newspapers from Marineford arrived.
Her ears shot upright.
“WAIT!”
Everyone turned toward her.
Carrot pointed at Zaraki.
“I know who he is!”
Bepo groaned.
“You’re only realizing now?”
Carrot ignored him.
“That’s War Demon Zaraki!”
Her voice climbed.
“The former Marine Headquarters special envoy! The man in all those newspapers!”
Nekomamushi’s fury stalled.
Inuarashi’s eyes widened slightly.
The name was impossible not to recognize after everything that had happened at Mary Geoise and Marineford.
Zaraki watched their expressions change and finally lost what remained of his patience.
“Enough.”
His hand tightened around the hilt.
“You want to know whether I’m serious about Kaido?”
He stepped forward.
“Then come find out.”
A controlled wave of dark-gold Reiatsu rolled outward from his body.
It remained centered on the clearing rather than spreading across Zou, but even that limited pressure was enough to make many of the surrounding minks stiffen involuntarily.
Zaraki grinned.
“If talking isn’t enough…”
His golden eyes burned with unmistakable battle hunger.
“I’ll beat you into listening first.”
Inuarashi and Nekomamushi lowered their centers of gravity at the same time.
The last strip of sunlight disappeared behind the trees.
Only then did the real confrontation begin.